The purpose of The Christian Working Woman is to equip and encourage Christians in the workplace to love Christ more, to live their daily lives by biblical principles, and to go to their jobs as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. For more information on our ministry go to: www.christianworkingwoman.org.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

7 Steps to Stay Positive in a Negative World

Many
workplaces are full of negativity and it’s very easy to allow yourself to be
pulled into it before you know it.Paul
wrote to the Philippians:“Rejoice in
the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).One of our trademarks as believers in a
negative world should be our joyful, positive attitudes.But you have to work at it; it won’t just
happen.Here are seven power points to
help you stay positive in a negative world.

1. Determine
your “negative pulls.”

What or who is it that can quickly and
repeatedly cause you to become negative?Write them down.

2. Pray about
each of these "negative pulls" daily.

Pray for understanding and
compassion

Pray for endurance

Pray for God's perspective

3. Learn to reframe
your “negative pulls.”

Put them in a different frame.Ask God to
help you see that situation or that person through His eyes.Focus on the positive
rather than the negative things.

4. Stop
trying to control the uncontrollable things/people associated with your
“negative pulls.”

Learn to let go and “cast all your anxiety
upon him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

5. Focus on
controlling the controllable things.

What can you control?(Usually it is mostly yourself!)Pray for God’s grace and wisdom to control
what you can.

6. Avoid
negative self-talk.

Don’t allow yourself to say negative things
to yourself or about yourself, even in your thought life.Stop in the middle of negative thinking or
talking and change it.

7. Save your
emotional energy for important issues rather than things that don't really
matter.

8. Ask
yourself, “What difference will this make in 24 hours?”

And if it won’t
matter much in 24 hours, don’t allow yourself to become agitated, angry,
irritated or frustrated about it.It
doesn’t matter!

These
seven principles will enable you to stay positive and joyful, no matter how
negative your world may sometimes be!